As a new scuba diver, I carry a healthy fear of hyperbaric oxygen therapy or HBOT, the treatment given to divers who have a case of the bends. But I’ve recently learned that HBOT is not only associated with a recreational sport gone wrong, but also with the care of a number of hard-to-treat ailments.

HBOT is administered in sealed chamber, which is under atmospheric pressure that is two to three times greater than normal and from what I’ve learned (I pestered my dive master numerous times) the treatment is painless. It works by filling the enclosed space, with oxygen, which is then absorbed by the lungs and skin — the pressure enhances the absorption process.

According to alternative health guru Andrew Weil, oxygen therapy can be used to treat slow-healing wounds, such as foot ulcers in diabetics, gangrene, complications from radiation therapy, and crush injuries like those from car accidents. The treatment is thought to speed healing by boosting oxygen flow within tissues.

Most large hospitals have a HBOT facility. Use the Hyperbaric Medicine Today chamber search to find one near you.

Have you ever experienced HBOT?

[via Prevention]

Image: hyperbaric-medicine.org/